Driverless, self-driving or autonomous cars are all capable of navigating roads free from human intervention thanks to advanced control systems which work in conjunction with lasers, radars and cameras.

Currently in the UK, no car is allowed to drive on public roads without a human to grab the wheel and take control at any time.

“UK roads throw up some particular challenges. They are different from American roads, with roundabouts and demanding country lanes. These are really testing environments,” Mark Westwood, chief technology officer of the Transport Systems Catapult, told the BBC.

“This project is about advancing the state of the art and trying to do something more demanding. The control system will learn to drive like a human.”

HumanDrive will collect data from human drivers in a simulation at Leeds University, on private test tracks and on a small selection of public roads before undertaking the route next year.

However, many obstacles still remain in the form of poor infrastructure for driverless technologies across the UK, particularly in remote areas. Many of the UK’s roads are also in need of repair before autonomous cars can drive on them.

“We will be working closely with our HumanDrive partners on the plans for the on-road testing. We will be taking the research and development of the Nissan vehicle to map how the introduction of such an autonomous vehicle can shape the future of our roads, in terms of safety, emissions, journey times and capacity.”